Mountain Bike Hazing

I must have felt a little crazy agreeing to go on my first mountain bike trail ride ever in the 103 degree temperature, but Erwin Park was calling and a bike was waiting. An acquaintance of mine offered to let me use his mountain bike for the trails, and on our way over to the park he was explaining how to handle certain situations, and techniques needed for completing the course in one piece. When we arrived at the park there were quite a few cars, much to my surprise.

We quickly got the bikes off the roof of the car, attached the front wheels and I was getting a feel for the bike on asphalt before heading towards the trail. Despite what people say, “once you learn how to ride a bike you never forget”, the actual balance act may be true, but the handling and feel for the bike is just as different as various cars, especially when the terrain is made up of extremely dry dirt which has been grinded into a fine powder in spots.

The trails were not much wider than twenty-four inches wide, and the land was suffering from any sort of adequate rain fall making the course very fast and slippery. After a short distance we headed into the shade of the trees, maneuvering between branches, hairpin turns, gaps and roots left on the trail as “obstacles”. We reached the first steep decline and I was instructed to hold the back brake and let the rear wheel lock up, essentially skidding all the way down. It was a strange experience down this, but I managed my way down the first decline without falling off (yay!).

The dense trees offered little to no reprieve from the heat as we rode, and I had a fair share of “touches” with my foot trying to go around trees, roots, or other things left on the trail. I was having a hard time trusting my instincts to guide me through the turns I was currently on, and looking to the next – there were several times I caught myself caught looking just in front of me, thankfully I didn’t take a header into a tree due to this little lapse.

A dip into a small ravine was next, the drop was close to twelve feet down with the path at what seemed like just steeper than a 45 degree angle. The other side up was just as steep and a turn was going to maneuvered though along with a tree root, and unlike the other one you needed enough speed going down to assist you in getting up the other side before succumbing to incline and toppling over backwards. I took a deep breath and flew down the hill with determination to make it up the other side with out taking a header before getting there, and much to my delight the down portion was quite a rush – similar to that of a roller coaster. The up part didn’t turn out so well as my momentum quickly disappeared and I couldn’t crank in time to save myself from having another touch, so close to the top. Ultimately, it was a success, and what a rush.

The ride continued though more trees, and then we made it to an open field full of weeds which had been burned to a brown crisp. You could feel the heat radiating off, blasting you in the face with a strange musty scent. This was one of the fastest parts of the trail for me as I started to pedal with confidence that I wasn’t going to take a header into a tree or go flying into a ravine. Never had a hot breeze felt so good either, as the blazing sun was relentless, I was beginning to hope I was drinking enough water from my camelback, so I wouldn’t succumb to the heat.

Part two of the ride seemed a little more advanced than the first half, as the dips came in multiples with turns and tree roots to negotiate as you reached the top. I chose the high path on one portion, but there were two others which I was going to have to take head on. Outside of a few close calls, and brushing up against a couple of trees with my shoulder I turned out okay. I had a good time riding the trails and liked its variety, but I am not sure if I prefer it to riding on the road, but you have to worry about cars when you are on the road.

I had a great time riding today, despite the heat, and I look forward to riding again.